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*Zim Returnees From SA Battling In Spite Of Govt Promises*
The Zimbabwean government says it has put in place a range of measures to help Zimbabweans returning from South Africa. But many say they are battling to make ends meet.

Faced with the expiry of their immigration documents in June, many Zimbabweans in South Africa have decided to return to Zimbabwe. In 2021, the South African government decided not to renew the Zimbabwe Exemption Permit and gave the 180,000 ZEP holders a year grace ending 31 December 2022. It then gave an extension until 30 June 2023.

The Union of Zimbabwean Educators and the Politeness Foundation say returning Zimbabweans are struggling to pay school fees.

Totamirepi Tirivavi, Deputy Director Family and Social Protection and Commissioner for Refugees in the Ministry of Public Service Labour and Social Welfare, said the government is ready to receive its returning citizens.

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“I would like to advise my fellow Zimbabweans who are likely to be affected by the non renewal of the Zimbabwe Exemption Permit (ZEP) that we are putting in some measures to make sure that you do not fall into double jeopardy. As you come into the country the government has already mobilised and put in place different ministries that provide services that you require as you enter the country. This includes the Ministry of Health for screening any communicable diseases, the Department of Civil Registration for issuing of birth certificates and IDs, the Department of Social Development that will be dealing with unaccompanied minors or elderly people and the Ministry of Education will assess the children and put in appropriate grades and where possible the government may assist in paying tuition fees,” said Tirivavi.

He said ministry staff throughout the country, including in villages, would offer assistance to the returnees.

Asked about how many people had been helped and what the budget was for assistance, Tirivavi said he did not have numbers.

He said returning Zimbabweans should check contacts on the ministry’s website or call the the ministry at +263 242 703 711/4.

But Jack Mutsvairo, chairperson of the Union of Zimbabwean Educators Western Cape, said the government’s statements were “mere rhetoric”.

“We have so far not come across any returnee who has received any help from the Zimbabwean government … Returning Zimbabweans are struggling to reestablish themselves in the country,” he said.

Polite Mbowa, founder of the Politeness Foundation, said last December the foundation had assisted 20 needy families repatriate to Matabeleland South Province, Zimbabwe.

She said most returnees could not afford to pay school fees. “Most of these people really need a support system from the government, especially regarding school fees. Some of these people will come back into South Africa trying to work for the family but it does not help very much.”

Clarer Phiri and her husband came to South Africa in 2008 and have held various Zimbabwean special permits since 2009. Phiri’s husband was working at a hotel in Cape Town and she was a child minder but in 2020 during the Covid pandemic they both lost their jobs.

After the announcement that the Zimbabwe Exemption Permit would not be extended, they decided to return to Zimbabwe in November.

Phiri is struggling to pay fees for her grade 4 child at a school in Marondera, 100km east of Harare. School fees for a term are US$70 (about R1,270) which she says she cannot afford.

“I am pleading with anyone in Zimbabwe to assist me kick start a project that may help me raise school fees,” said Phiri.

Chido Gumbo from Nyanga, outside Rusape, is also struggling to pay school fees for her two children – one in Early Childhood Development and the other in grade 6. The fee is US$20 (about R363) per term per child. She returned to Zimbabwe last December after working in South Africa since 2009, because she had lost her job as a domestic worker. She has no job in Zimbabwe.

Gumbo’s husband is also in Zimbabwe and also unemployed.

She has had to make arrangements with the school authorities to let the children attend lessons while looking for piece jobs. Like Phiri, she has not received any help from the government.

The children do not get food at school. Gumbo has started growing maize using the “timba ugute” farming method (using hoes) on a small piece of land next to her home.

“Only this season they [the children] carry cooked maize cobs for lunch,” said Gumbo.
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Police make U-turn after initially claiming arrested Zimbabweans were driving SAPS car
The SAPS in Limpopo have refuted assertions that the bakkie seized in Mpumalanga belonged to a police station in Thohoyandou. Picture: SAPS

The SAPS in Limpopo have refuted assertions that the bakkie seized in Mpumalanga belonged to a police station in Thohoyandou. Picture: SAPS

Published 19h ago

Written by

Jonisayi Maromo

Multimedia Journalist, IOL News

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Pretoria – The police in Limpopo has strongly refuted assertions made by police in Mpumalanga over the arrest of two Zimbabwean men who were arrested while allegedly driving a vehicle belonging to the SAPS.

“The provincial commissioner of police in Limpopo, Lieutenant-General Thembi Hadebe and police management in the province are concerned about reports on various media platforms, especially social media, indicating that a motor vehicle that was confiscated by the police in Mpumalanga, in which two suspects were reportedly apprehended along the N12 under Delmas policing area on Wednesday 20 July 2022, was stolen from Thohoyandou SAPS,” said Limpopo SAPS spokesperson Brigadier Motlafela Mojapelo.

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The SAPS in Limpopo have strongly refuted assertions that the bakkie seized in Mpumalanga belonged to a police station in Thohoyandou. Picture: SAPS
“Our records indicate that the said motor vehicle, an unmarked white Nissan single cab that was confiscated by the police in Delmas, Mpumalanga was once a police vehicle that was attached to Thohoyandou SAPS. It was sold during a public auction on 2 June 2022 and was bought by a Zimbabwean national who handed in documents that showed he was in the country legally.”

Mojapelo said the new owner of the bakkie did the change of ownership the next day, on 3 June.

“The registration number on the vehicle is the correct one and nowhere in the eNatis system does the vehicle indicate that it was stolen. The history of the vehicle does however indicate previous ownership and how it was disposed of,” Mojapelo said.

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“Various people continue to peddle this wrong information on social media that the vehicle was stolen from Thohoyandou SAPS despite the fact that the official media statement issued by the police in Mpumalanga does not indicate the vehicle was stolen.”

Mojapelo said before the vehicle was sent to a public auction, all police markings were removed.

Last week, the SAPS in Mpumalanga said the vehicle had been seized after it was found transporting suspected stolen diesel. The police in Mpumalanga stated that the vehicle belonged to SAPS Thohoyandou, and had been fitted with “incorrect” number plates.

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“To make matters worse, the members (officers) uncovered that the registration number plates displayed in the bakkie were incorrect hence the car was seized. In addition to that investigation thus far revealed that in fact the car belongs to the SAPS in Thohoyandou, Limpopo,” said Mpumalanga police spokesperson Brigadier Selvy Mohlala.

“This matter is still being investigated to find out as to how the vehicle landed in the hands of the two Zimbabwean nationals. More charges against the two are eminent and police cannot rule out the possibility of more arrests as the probe continues.”

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New regulations make it tougher to hire foreign workers in South Africa – what you need to know

Staff Writer26 July 2022



The Department of Employment and Labour (DEL) has published an annexure to South Africa’s immigration regulations, making sure that all work visa applications are vetted by the department first.
Labour and immigration experts at Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr said that employers must ensure that they comply with new requirements to avoid any administrative delays in the processing of visa applications.
The new annexure clarifies “uncertainty” about the DEL’s involvement in the visa application process, now making it a critical step, said Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr.
There is now a compulsory preliminary process to be followed before work visa applications are submitted to Visa Facilitation Services (VFS), which was not the case prior to the annexure.

Previously, an employer was required to register a vacancy with the DEL and had to interview all prospective candidates referred to them by the department. Under the new annexure, visa applications to fill the position must be submitted to the DEL for vetting.
The annexure deals with the following:

A general work visa (GWV);

A corporate visa;

The renewal of an existing visa (to a GWV);

The change of conditions or status of an existing visa (to a GWV);

A permanent residence permit for foreigners who receive an offer of employment while in possession of a valid work visa.

According to Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr, in terms of the preliminary process, the following steps must be taken by the client employer – and not the foreign worker – before a visa application is submitted to VFS:

The employer must register the employment opportunity with the DEL by completing a registration form.

After completing the employment opportunity form, the DEL will try to provide the employer with suitable candidates for placement. The client employer is required to inform the DEL whether any of its referred candidates have been employed.

The visa application form must be completed and delivered to the relevant DEL provincial office, together with the respective supporting documents. When submitting the visa application, the client employer must also provide the DEL with its contact details and business address for purposes of future compliance audits.

After the visa application is submitted to the DEL, a “visa finalisation notification” will be emailed to the employer after a recommendation certificate has been submitted by the DEL to the Department of Home Affairs (DHA).

In terms of the annexure, the DEL’s recommendation is not appealable, and an appeal can only be directed to the DHA, added Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr.

Only after the employer receives the notification from the DEL it can submit the work visa application to the DHA. The turnaround time for the DEL to process a work visa is said to be 30 working days. However, the department currently faces a backlog.
Zero-tolerance stance
The DHA announced at a recent Xpatweb conference that it has the mandate to address immigration in South Africa. It urged employers to ensure that all expatriate staff are in possession of legally obtained and issued work visas.
The department’s approach has been necessitated by years of employers failing to comply with the provisions of the Immigration Act through the consistent employment of illegal foreigners without valid work visas, said Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr.

Under the Immigration Act, employers are prohibited from employing illegal foreign nationals. The new zero-tolerance approach by the government means that employers who are found to have contravened the Immigration Act will be shown ‘no mercy’.
Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr said that employers must make a good faith effort to ascertain the status or citizenship of any foreigners they intend to employ, not to contravene the Immigration Act.
This could be done by:

Verifying the validity of prospective employees’ work visas, refugee or asylum permits through either the Department of Home Affairs or a third-party service provider such as the Managed Integrity Evaluation Services; or,

Conducting an immigration audit of all current foreign employees.

An illegal foreign national under the Immigration Act is a foreigner whose status does not authorise them to be employed by a particular employer. Or any foreigners on terms, conditions and/or in any capacity other than the capacity provided for based on their status, said Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr.
If an employer is in contravention of the act, it is guilty of an offence and liable to either a fine or imprisonment upon conviction, the firm said.
The DHA said it is currently working its way through businesses and arresting illegal ex-pats and relevant company representatives.

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Government sends warning to businesses hiring foreign workers in South Africa

Staff Writer19 July 2022



The government is adopting a zero-tolerance stance on the hiring of illegal foreign workers in South Africa, says Ben Makhalemele, deputy director of corporate accounts at the Department of Home Affairs.
Makhalemele, who was speaking at Xpatweb’s recent global mobility conference in Johannesburg, said that his department has developed a clear mandate on addressing immigration in South Africa.
This includes:

Facilitating and regulating the secure movement of people through the ports of entry into and out of the Republic of South Africa;

Confirming and providing enabling documents to foreign visitors legally residing within South Africa;

Enforcing immigration legislation and effect deportations;

Determining the status of asylum seekers and regulate refugee affairs; and

Contributing towards realising a positive skills migration trend into South Africa.

Makhalemele said that the department is ‘well aware’ of the volume of foreigners who are residing in our country illegally, with either fraudulent paperwork or no status whatsoever.

He implored all employers to ensure that all of their expatriate staff are in possession of legally obtained and issued work visas.
He explained that the department is taking a ‘no-mercy’ stance and cautioned all employers that, should they be found to have illegal expats, they will be fined, and both the owner/chief executive of the company as well as the Head of HR of the company may face criminal charges and imprisonment.
He explained that they are currently working their way through businesses and arresting both the illegal expats, as well as the relevant company representatives; he confirmed that he has personally been part of this operation.
Quota system

Makhalemele’s comments come as the Department of Employment and Labour finalises two new documents which will tighten employment laws, including limitations on the hiring of foreigners.
Speaking on the changes in June, labour minister Thulas Nxesi said the National Labour Migration Policy would include limitations on the hiring of foreigners.
He noted that the policy aims to achieve a balance across several areas, including:

The first is to address South Africans’ expectations regarding access to work opportunities, given worsening unemployment and the perception that foreign nationals are distorting labour market access. The NLMP, together with proposed legislation, will introduce quotas on the total number of documented foreign nationals with work visas that can be employed in major economic sectors such as Agriculture, Hospitality and Tourism, Construction, etc.

The NLMP will be complemented by small business interventions and enforcement of a list of sectors where foreign nationals cannot be allocated business visas and amendments to the Small Business Act to limit foreign nationals establishing SMMEs and trading in some sectors of the economy.

The Department of Home Affairs is reviewing current legislation and strengthening the Border Management Authority to secure porous borders and to allow for the orderly movement of people and other nationals through ports of entry only.

Government plans to ramp up inspections to enforce existing labour and immigration legislation.

Nxesi said the National Labour Migration Policy goes hand in hand with the proposed Employment Services Amendment Bill, which provide the legal basis to regulate the extent to which employers can employ foreign nationals in their establishments while protecting the rights of migrants.

The proposed amendments to the Employment Services Act aim to limit the extent to which employers can employ the number of foreign nationals in possession of a valid work visa in their employment,” he said.
It will also place several obligations on an employer employing foreign workers, including:

Only employ foreign nationals entitled to work in terms of the Immigration Act, the Refugees Act, or any other provision;

Ascertain the foreign national is entitled to work in the Republic in the relevant position;

Satisfy themselves that there are no South Africans with the requisite skills to fill the vacancy;

Prepare a skills transfer plan, where appropriate;

Employ foreign nationals on the same terms as local workers; and

Retain copies of relevant documentation.